Campus Culture Dimension Report
Pellissippi State Technical Community College

Foundations Institutions make new students a high priority for faculty and staff.  A culture of responsibility for the experiences of new students characterizes these institutions. This culture is realized through high-quality instruction, services, and support as well as substantial interaction with students both inside and outside the classroom. Campus leaders nurture this culture and support it by appropriate institutional recognition and rewards.

Committee Leader:
L. Anthony Wise. Jr., Department Head, Liberal Arts

Committee Members:
Bill Brewer, Assistant Professor - Liberal Arts
Dorothy Donaldson, Associate Professor -Liberal Arts
Lana Doncaster, Director of Educational Technology Services
H. L. (Harriet-Lynn) Ford, Associate Professor - English
Margaret Franzen, Associate Professor - Natural and Behavioral Sciences
Mark Fuentes, Assistant Professor - Business and Computer Technology
Katherine Harper, Assistant Professor - Business and Computer Technology
Anne Kinggard, Professor - Liberal Arts
Toni McDaniel, Professor - Liberal Arts
Pat Myers, Director of Alumni Relations and Foundation Events
Laxman Nathawat, Assistant Professor - Engineering and Media Technologies
Peter Nerzak, Director of Library Services
Mike North, Assistant Dean Division Street Programs
Linda Randolph, Director of Educational Improvement
Harold Rowland, Assistant Professor - English
Stewart Taylor, Assistant Professor - Engineering and Media Technologies
Berta Ward, Dean of Academic Advising, Articulation and Curriculum
Audrey Williams, Instructional Technology Specialist

Current Situation:
A number of internal practices indicate that there is support for a variety of classroom pedagogies to meet the broad goals of the college which are geared to both new students and the general student body. Examples cited below must be approved by senior leadership to be adopted, implemented, and/or published. Examples where cited, then imply tacit support from senior leaders, in particular the Vice-President of Academic and Student Affairs. Support documentation may be found in the following,

Pellissippi General Education Goals, Master Syllabi, Educational Technologies Services, Instructional Development Committee, Strategic Goals of the College, College Mission Statement, College Policies and procedures Manuel, The Center of Emphasis for Innovation in Learning & Assessment, and the basis for Academic Awards for Faculty **

The academic department heads believe that faculty in their departments use engaging teaching methods. They commend those who do so and frequently encourage them to share their ideas and strategies with others within the department.

Faculty members are encouraged to a very high degree to understand unit-level and/or program level learning goals for entry-level courses and to convey this information to students. All faculty who teach an entry-level course should distribute during the first week of the semester a copy of the course syllabus. The syllabus outlines general course objectives, expectations for student performance, and weekly topics.

In selected entry-level courses instructors must give pretest/posttest assessments to determine student achievement on specific items that are linked to general education outcomes. The course instructors are informed of the results and participate in discussions about how to use the results to improve student performance and the course in general

Faculty are encouraged and supported in identifying and understanding discipline-specific trends and issues related to entry-level courses. Faculty involvement in local, regional, state, and national professional organizations is encouraged and supported financially. Faculty who attend conferences and workshops report to the department on specific trends/issues or strategies that they think should be considered or implemented to improve student performance. Information is also shared and discussed via e-mail and at department meetings.

The communication of expectations for involvement with new students is inconsistent. Some academic departments make an effort to explain to faculty what they might expect from new students, but there is not a concerted effort to make sure all faculty and staff in academic areas are fully aware of new student issues and concerns. The communication in the area of student services is inconsistent as well. Staff working specifically with new students are likely to be asked about relevant issues and given some information during orientation; others are not.

There is little doubt that employees of Pellissippi State Technical Community College believe that student retention is important. Survey results indicate that to a high degree faculty believe that retention is very important to themselves, their colleagues, and departmental and college leaders. Despite the interest in student retention, discussions with key personnel in academic and student affairs suggest that ultimate responsibility for this particular aspect of the first-year experience is poorly defined and communicated.

Areas of Concern:
There is no evidence of any institution-wide learning goals for new students. There is an effort made to encourage general education faculty to understand general education goals through program review; those however, are not specifically for new students.

No evidence has been found that directly supports the idea that senior-level administration encourages an understanding of new students at Pellissippi in any sort of systematic way. Sections and/or policies from the following might be used to provide general support.

Statement of Visions and Values in the College Policies/Procedures, The Center of Emphasis, and the Instructional Development Committee **

Sections of, and/or policies of the following show support for the broad trends and issues of new students.

Teaching Resources for Assessment and Innovations in Learning (Faculty/Staff support), Grant development and receipt of same, TRIO Student Support Services, and the College Mission Statement **

** Itemized list referenced in support category of question

Although the level of performance is high in this area, the college might benefit if teaching and learning strategies were shared across departments through a "Best Practices" program.

The area of "expectations" is another where the college might benefit from a more comprehensive approach. Since most employees of the college will work with new students, it would be beneficial to provide information about those students during the hiring and orientation process. This training should extend to employees not hired directly by the college, like security personnel, who have significant contact with the student population.

There are several programs and departments at the college who assume responsibility for student retention on some level. Gayle Woods, of the Admissions and Records department works on the retention of African-American students. TRIO serves a variety of students who are at risk. Unfortunately, the college has not designated an individual or department to oversee retention efforts as a whole. The gaps are most obvious when one considers the many students who drop out long before grades even become an issue. It is clear that the college needs to adopt a broader approach to retention and in doing so should consider the following: defining what retention means for community colleges, requiring all students to attend new student orientation, developing an intervention program for first-year and at-risk students, and hiring additional counselors to meet the many needs of the student population.

Summary of Evidence:
Although senior-level administrators do encourage faculty to actively engage students in the classroom, there is need for improvement in this dimension. The college should consider adopting a set of learning goals for new students and should work towards helping faculty and staff understand the characteristics of new students at Pellissippi and the broad trends and issues in education new students.

The committee based its conclusions on a series of interviews with the academic department heads. They can be found in the evidence library.

The results of the faculty/staff survey indicate that the college does not give sufficient attention to new student issues in position descriptions, the hiring process or employee orientation. Follow-up interviews support the results of the survey. A summary of those interviews is attached.

If we consider responsibility for retention, then our marks for this performance indicator are relatively "low." As a college, we agree it is a problem but have not yet identified a comprehensive solution.

Recommended Grade: C-

Recommended Action Items:

• Adopt a set of Learning Goals for new students (High priority)

The adoption of a set of Learning Goals for new students will help faculty and staff understand the characteristics of new students and guide the creation and revision of courses, programs and activities.



• Develop a "college-wide" approach to retention (High priority)

1) define retention for community colleges
2) require attendance at new student orientation
3) develop an intervention program for first-year and at-risk students (including those approaching academic suspension)
4) hire additional counselors to meet the many needs of the student population

• A comprehensive hiring/orientation program (High priority)

1) include a discussion of students (and new students) in the hiring process
2) provide an orientation for all employees that includes a session on new student characterics
3) provide training for security personnel

• "Best Practices" (High priority)

The development of a "Best Practices" program could be an umbrella for many of the issues raised in this dimension as a whole. For example, new employees could be introduced to the "Best Practices" of the college in the hiring and orientation process. The "Best Practices" program could become part of inservice activities for faculty and staff as a way of staying current with new students issues and sharing ideas across departments of the college.